Press Release

Morgan Lewis, Fordham Law Sommer Lecture to Feature Discussion with FINRA’s Robert Cook

October 03, 2018

ContactsTimothy P. Burke, Ben A. Indek

NEW YORK, October 3, 2018: Morgan Lewis is proud to support the 19th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture on Corporate, Securities and Financial Law at Fordham University School of Law on October 10, featuring Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) President and CEO Robert Cook. Fordham Law School Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law Matthew Diller will kick off this year’s program, a fireside chat with Mr. Cook and Morgan Lewis partner Ben A. Indek. Morgan Lewis partner Timothy P. Burke will introduce Mr. Cook and Mr. Indek.

Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Cook served as the director of the Division of Trading and Markets of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He was a securities lawyer at an international law firm in Washington, DC, immediately preceding his tenures at FINRA and the SEC.

The discussion will cover a wide range of topics, including regulating cryptocurrencies, FINRA’s comprehensive self-evaluation and structural improvement initiative (FINRA360), key rulemaking areas, FINRA’s current enforcement priorities and its approach to chief compliance officer liability, and the role of member firms in today’s self-regulatory regime. It will also look ahead to FINRA’s priorities for the coming year.

The Sommer Lecture is one of Fordham Corporate Law Center’s most significant and influential programs, inviting leading regulators and policymakers to share with the law school and the business community insights into critical issues confronting global financial markets. The lecture was established in 2000 by Morgan Lewis in tribute to the firm’s distinguished former partner, Al Sommer, who helped start the firm’s securities regulatory practice more than 35 years ago.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place on campus at 150 West 62nd Street, New York, in the Costantino Room (2nd floor, Room 2-02) at 6:30 pm. A reception will immediately follow the discussion.